Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday as a rally in oil prices lifted the energy sector to the highest level in nearly three months, while financials gained ground as bond yields rose.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 60.76 points, or 0.3%, at 20,463.42.
“Energy has rallied pretty nicely” on the jump in oil prices, said Kevin Headland, senior investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management.
The energy sector rose 3.1% to notch its highest closing level since July 5, while crude oil futures settled nearly 2% higher at $75.45 a barrel as investors fretted about tighter supplies.
The heavily weighted financial services sector ended 0.5% higher but information technology lost 1.2%.
The move lower in technology was “a carryover from the U.S., given the jump in 10-year yields today,” Headland said.
The U.S. 10-year yield rose above 1.5% for the first time since June 29 before easing, bolstered by solid economic data and signals the Federal Reserve is shifting toward a more hawkish policy.
Higher yields tend to hurt the shares of companies with high growth prospects because they reduce the value of future cash flows.
The S&P 500, which has a higher technology weighting than the Toronto market, ended lower.
“In the Canadian stock market... we’re playing a little bit of catch-up to U.S. stocks as they outperformed Canadian stocks in the last five sessions,” said Michael White, portfolio manager at Picton Mahoney Asset Management.
The healthcare sector, which includes cannabis producers, ended 2.4% higher. The materials group gained 0.5%.
Wall Street
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes ended lower on Monday with investors pivoting to value as tech shares, hurt by rising Treasury yields, weighed on equities in the quarter’s final week.
Of the three major U.S. stock indexes, only the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in positive territory, buoyed by financials and industrials.
Economically sensitive smallcaps and transports outperformed the broader market.
“The economic reopening trade is alive and well,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive of Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “Economically sensitive stocks are up, and tech’s being worked over pretty good.”
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose, to the benefit of rate-sensitive financials. Rising crude prices pushed energy stocks to the biggest closing percentage gains.
“Rising rates typically reflect investors having a little bit more confidence in the economy not being stalled out,” Carlson added. “And the Fed is also indicating it’s going to start tapering sooner rather later, and that’s probably helping upward trajectory in rates.”
Those rising yields hurt some market leaders that had benefited from low rates. Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc ended the session down between 0.6% and 1.7%.
In Washington, negotiations over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling were heating up at the start of a week that could also include a vote on U.S. President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
On the economic front, new orders for durable goods waltzed past analyst expectations, gaining 1.8% in August. The value of total new orders has grown beyond pre-pandemic levels to a seven-year high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.37 points, or 0.21%, to 34,869.37; the S&P 500 lost 12.37 points, or 0.28%, at 4,443.11; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 77.73 points, or 0.52%, to 14,969.97.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, six closed lower. Real estate and healthcare suffered the largest percentage losses.
While the S&P 500 value index has underperformed growth so far this year, that gap has narrowed in September as investors increasingly favor lower valuation stocks that stand to benefit most from economic revival.
The S&P 500 is on track to snap its seven-month winning streak, with the prospect of higher corporate tax rates and hints from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it could start to tighten its accommodative monetary policies in the months ahead.
Goldman Sachs strategists see potential corporate rate hikes as a headwind to its outlook for return-on-equity (ROE) on U.S. stocks in 2022, the broker said in a research note.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliner on the NYSE by a 1.41-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.60-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and four new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 104 new highs and 78 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.32 billion shares, compared with the 10.19 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters
Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.